COME CLOSER
©Betty Luceigh, 1999

Atop a barren hill I stood, before the gentle wind,
when first I heard the murmur riding on its wings.
I felt the tender sounds touch upon my skin
to lift questions marks embedded in my being.

“Come closer, come closer,” it said
as if an invitation to be embraced by its serenity.
Yet no source could I see for my steps to begin
so I silently remained in the breeze.

“Come closer, come closer to understanding,” it said
step out from the whirlwind of your confusions.”
The chaos of my mind surrounded me poised
to tilt the balance of my trembling illusions.

“Search for structure in disorder presumed.
Make connections one to the other.
What seems misplaced to you now
are but the corners of patterns to discover.”

The breeze slowly changed directions
then engulfed me once again,
and I wondered what lesson was I to learn
from this pleading of the wind.

For a long moment I stood in these reflections
when “Come closer, come closer,” it said once more.
“Step forward in your quest for freedom
for you have yet to choose your core.”

“To unchain the beauty of the thousand suns;
discard all that distorts your view,
for what you select in the clarity of its light
will abundantly appear in you.”

I had not sensed til those words
the passing cloud that blurred my visions
and I wondered if the outcome of understanding
was the freedom of conscious decisions.

The breeze quickly became a southern wind
blowing its warmth against my breast.
It was then I became aware of a chill within
and the longing for the voice of this guest.

“Come closer, come closer to true compassion.
Blind judgements have frozen your heart.
For the goal of understanding and freedom
is to unravel complexity apart.”

I was overwhelmed by now with the need to move
and lifted one foot from the ground
but I held it there as I sought to know
what was the direction of the sound?

The breeze had stopped; I heard no more
of understanding, of freedom, of compassion.
No more did sounds arrive with the wind
while I waited in my hesitation.

My first step came down before I realized
the murmers were teachings for my soul.
I knew then the source of the voice was within
saying “Come closer, come closer to home.”

“Every step toward understanding,
every step that is truly free,
every step that moves with compassion
is a step closer to who you will be.”

“Come closer, come closer, come closer…”

******
Footnote: It is now 2016 and I AM closer…
This day I celebrate 33 years since the Light of a Thousand Suns revealed herself.
I AM closer to home.